Clothes-pounder.



L. R. SPOHRER.

CLOTHES 'POUNDER. APPLIoAT'Ion FILED un. 19, 191s.

Patented NOV. 25, 1913.

L S Pagg/ggf* @@w" @wi/limoen lUNITED STATES4 PATENT OFFICE.

LOUISA R. SPOI-IRER, OF MAYETTA, KANSAS.

CLOTHES-POUNDER.

To @ZZ whom t may concern Be it known that I, LOUISA R. SPoI-IRER, a citizen of the United States, residing at Mayetta, in the county of Jackson and State of Kansas, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Clothes-Founders; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

This invention relates to laundry apparatus, and it more particularly relates to an improved form of valved clothes pounder for apparatus of this character.

An object of the invention is to provide a clothes pounder of such character that the clothes being washed are slightly raised from the bottom of the tub, by suction, to allow water to pass thereunder, and alt-ernately pressed downward, so as to force the water which has entered thereunder to pass upward through the clothing and through the pounder. A

Another object of the invent-ion is to provide a laundry apparatus of this character with a clothes pounder having vertical passages therethrough and having a shield over the passages for limiting the upward movement of the water after passing through said passages.

Another object of the invention is to provide a clothes pounder of this character having a combined valve element and water shield associated therewith.

Other objects and advantages may be recited hereinafter and in the claim.

In the accompanying drawings which supplement this specification, Figure 1 is a vertical sectional view through my improved washing machine, Fig. 2 is a bottom plan view of my improved valved suction pounder, Fig. 3 is a bottom plan view of my improved perforated and partitioned false bottom, and, Fig. t is an enlarged vertical sectional view through one of the vertical passages of the pounder and through the vertically movable valve element thereof.

In these drawings in which similar reference characters correspond with similar parts throughout the several views, the tub 5 is preferably larger at the bottom than at the top, being provided with four legs 6 which elevate it to a convenient height. The bottom 7 may be of ordinary construction, and seat-ed upon said bottom is a false bot- Speciication of Letters Patent.

Application filed March 19, 1913.

Patented Nov. 25, 1913.

Serial No. 755,371.

tom which consists of a perforated plate or disk 8, of sheet metal, and a series of crossed strips 9. These strips are spaced and constitute partit-ions between which are provided several recesses or chambers 10 which communicate with the main cavity of the tub through a series of perforations 11. The outer edge of the plate 8 is notched at 12 to allow the passage of securing lugs or buttons 13. This false bottom rests with its partitions 9 on the main bottom 7, and is secured in place by turning or rotating it slightly, so that the lug 13 rests upon the top surface of the plate 8 between the notches 12.

A standard or supporting arm 14 is secured on one side of the tub at the top, a lever 15 is pivoted at 16'to said standard and has, apounder rod or beam 17 pivoted' thereto at 18. Rigidly secured centrally thereof on the lower end of the beam 17 is the valved clothes pounder which consists of an upper plate 19 and a lower plate 20, the upper plate being provided with a series of apertures, and the lower plate being provided with a similar series of apertures of somewhat larger size than those of the upper plate. The apertures of the upper plate register with those of the lower plate, and within each pair of registering apertures is seated an upwardly tapering tube 21 which is solde-red at 22 to said plates, so that the plates 19 and 20 and the tubes 21 are rigidly united and formed into a rigid pounder element which is rigidly united with the pounder rod 17 and combines therewith to form a rigid pounder having vertical and upwardly tapered passages therethrough. The lower ends of the tubes 21 are preferably flush with the lower surface of the plate 20, while the upper ends of said tubes preferably extend somewhat above the upper plate. A valve plate 23 is provided with a downwardly extending flange 24, and with a central aperture 25 through which the pounder rod 17 extends, said pounder rod being provided with a shoulder 26, for limiting the upward movement of the member 23; said member being loosely mounted, so that it may slide up and down on the pounder rod and alternately rest on the upper ends of the tubes 21 and against the shoulder 26.

Any suitable form of stop 27 may be provided for limiting the outward movement of the l-ever 15 when it is swung out of operative position, the present stop element consisting of a lug 27 secured on the lever 1-5 and adapted to rest against the standard 14, for retaining the lever 15 in inclined position, whereby the handle of t-he lever 15 is held up out of the way of children and other persons, and at the same time, the pounder is supported above the edge of the tub, out of the way of the operator while placing the clothes in the tub, in such position that the-water from the pounder drips into the tub.

On account of the pivotal connection 18, the pounder isallowed yto conform to the bulk of clothes in the tub, so as to press with approximately equal force upon all parts of the clothing,

In operation, assuming that clothing, water, etc., has been placed in the tub, the handle of the lever 15 is swung from its inoperative position into the position shown in Fig. ,1, and the operation is carried out by alternately raising and lowering the handle, and thereby reciprocating the clothes pounder up and down. As the pounder is raised, the valve plate 28 moves downward by gravity and closes the upper -ends of the 'tubes 21, so that the clothes are slightly raised by the suction that is created. This allows water to flow under and between the articles of clothing, so that when the pounder descends upon the clothing and presses upon them, the water is forced through the fabric of the clothing, into the chambers 10, through the apertures 11, carrying a portion of the dirt from the clothing into said chambers and there deposit-- ing said dirt; while some of the water passing through the clothing is forced upward through the passages or tubes 21, thereby forcing the valve plate 23 upward, so that the water passes from the space above the plate 19 down through the annular space between said plate and the iiange 24. By thus directing the flow of water downward, adjacent to the outer wall of the tub, the undesirable splashing of water over the sides of the tub and up into the operators face is eliminated. After the operation has been completed, the lever 15 is swung into its inoperative position, and the clothes removed. The water is now drawn from the tub, and for this latter purpose the tub is provided with an outlet opening 28 from which the water may be drawn, a plug 29 being provided for normally closing the opening 28. The water having been drawn oli', the false bottom is now rotated suiiicicntly to bring the notches 12 opposite to the lugs 13 and this false bottom may now be raised out of the tub, so that the main bottom and false bottom may be thoroughly cleansed.

It will be seen that I have provided a washing machine of this character which is fully capable of attaining the foregoing objects in a thoroughly practical and eiicient manner.

I do not limit my invention to the exact details of construction, and combination of parts, as herewith illustrated and described, but my invention may only be limited by a reasonable interpretation of the claim.

I claim:

In a clothes pounder a stem, a lower plate secured centrally thereon, an upper plate secured centrally thereon, said upper and lower plates provided with a plurality of registering openings, the openings in the upper plate being smaller than the openings in the lower plate, a plurality of cone shaped members open at both ends and secured in said registering openings, and a valve plate slidably secured on said stem above said upper plate, and a ange formed on said valve plate and extending downwardly therefrom and circumscribing said upper and lower plates, and spaced therefrom, said valve plate adapted to alternately engage with and disengage from the upper ends of said cone members for alternately closing and opening the same.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

LOUISA R. SPOHRER. litnesses H. D. JONES, J. A. Sronnnn.

Copies of th'is patent may be obtained for ve cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. G. 

